Rogue the Hedgehog
by Camobamo1
Summary: Rogue  not Rouge , a 13-year-old homeless hedgehog, has been wandering for the past 6 years after his parents' death, but things take a turn for the better when he meets Sonic and his gang. Placed in the world of my story The Two-Tailed Fox.
1. Prologue

_Hey, everyone. I've been having writer's block on _The Two-Tailed Fox_, so the past day, I've been working on a new story. Once I get back in the groove with _The Two-Tailed Fox_, this will probably receive less attention, but I'll still try to update often._

_**Rogue the Hedgehog**_

**Prologue**

_ Central City isn't exactly the best place to be living since the GUN is always breathing down your neck, but it doesn't help when breaking the law is the only way you can survive. I have to steal a lot of things just to stay alive._

_ I've been to many places since I became homeless, like South Island, Westside Island, Future City, and others. I came to Central City about a year ago, hoping to find a home, but I wasn't granted such luck. The people of Mobius must have no sympathy, even for someone who's been wandering for almost six years._

* * *

><p>"Well, well, I think I've caught a little rat!" Oh, great… I've been found… Again… I need to be more careful. The red coyote that runs the shop picks me up by the collar of my black t-shirt. "What did I say last time…? Ugh… I said that if I catch you one more time in here, it's over to juvy with you! I'm sure the GUN would be happy to have you out of their way. I hear you injured one of their officers the other day when he tried to arrest you. Why don't you just let them take you to juvy, Rogue?"<p>

I try to struggle free from his firm grasp with no avail. "Because I just want to survive," I state without looking into his eyes. "Either that, or get a good home, but the latter isn't exactly possible. Now let me go!" While flailing around, I end up kicking the coyote in the… area. He lets go of my shirt and I grab a small bag of potato chips next to me. I immediately dash out of the store without looking back.

I've been getting more and more reckless each time I try to steal something. This time was a bit of a close shave. Had I not been that lucky, I probably would be heading to juvy right now. That's not a place I ever want to see.

It's not my fault that I don't have anybody to take care of me! Should I have to go through all this trouble just to feed myself? Well, at least I have it easier than this one kid on Westside Island. The poor twin-tailed fox was getting beaten up on a daily basis, and he ate way less than I did, but I digress.

As soon as I'm in my little hiding place near one of the parks in the city, I open the bag of chips and immediately stuff a handful of them in my mouth. Oh, they taste so good! I haven't had chips in probably two months! "Hey, Rogue, you finally got some food, huh?" If I didn't know who it was, I probably would pull my gun out on him, but it's just my friend, Aiden. He's an eleven-year-old cyan chameleon, and ever since I got here, he's been the only one who's actually nice to me. "You know I could probably steal some food from the orphanage for you."

As he sits next to me, I shake my head and reply, "Aiden, I won't have my friend give me food that's not his. I need to fend for myself." Aiden just sighs. I hate making him feel bad, but I wouldn't be able to live with myself if he got caught or something. "Just stick to being good company."

He nods, but hands me something wrapped in foil. "I already got ya something anyway. I used some money I had made at my new job to pay for it. It's a present from me! And don't even think of trying to give it back to me, Rogue! I hate ketchup and mustard." I unwrap it, and there's a bacon cheeseburger sitting right there in the palm of my hand. I haven't had one since… since my parents died. I had told Aiden that this is my favorite food, but I never actually expected him to get one for me. I really am stunned speechless. "Th-thanks, Aiden…" I finally manage to stutter. "But why did you get one for me?"

Then, Aiden throws me an inquisitive look. "You do realize what today is, right?" I raise an eyebrow. Today's special? I simply shake my head. Aiden sighs once again. "It's the thirteenth of May, Rogue! It's your birthday! Happy thirteenth, Rogue! Hey, it's even your golden birthday, too!" It… is my birthday, isn't it? I had completely forgotten! He remembered my birthday even though I failed to remember it myself.

"Yoo-hoo! Aiden, my dear boy! Where are you?" Who in the world is that? "Uh-oh!" exclaims Aiden. "That's the orphanage lady! I'd better get out of here quick before she—" A brunette female human looking about in her thirties appears in front of us. "There you are, Aiden!" she says in a British accent. Then, her eyes focus on me. I politely wave to her and try my best to make eye contact, and she asks, "Oh, Aiden, did you make a new friend? He looks very… dirty and…" Then, her focus falls onto the pistol in my shorts. "Oh, my goodness, he has a gun! Aiden, get away from him right now!" She pulls him away and shoots a piercing look toward me, which immediately makes me drop eye contact.

She then looks back at Aiden and asks sweetly, "Did he threaten you? Did he try to hurt you?" He tries to wriggle free of her grasp as he answers, "No, Miss Thorn. He's my friend. He's a very nice guy. He just has a gun so that he can protect himself if he needs to." Miss Thorn wags her finger at Aiden. "Mm-mm-mm!" she exclaims. "Why would he need that to protect himself? He can always call the police or his parents." Aiden growls quietly and responds, "But he can't! He's homeless. Do you expect him to feel completely safe all the time? He doesn't have a cellphone, and it's not like he can just walk up to a payphone and dial 911 since payphones don't exist in this city anymore. What else is a thirteen-year-old hedgehog supposed to do to defend himself?"

Miss Thorn looks at me again, still unsure about whether I'm trustworthy or not. "Are you sure he wasn't lying when he told you about himself, darling?" Aiden nods. "I'm completely sure, Miss Thorn. Plus, I think that, if he were dangerous, he probably would have hurt me a year ago when I met him." Trying to sound as polite as I can, I point to my pistol and say, without looking at her, "If it makes you uncomfortable, ma'am, I can put it somewhere else for now." I feel naked without it, but I don't want my only friend to stop seeing me.

Miss Thorn puts a slightly curled index finger horizontally over her lips and ponders for a moment. "Well…" she mumbles after a few seconds. She resumes normal volume as she continues. "You do seem courteous and… I don't see any intent for harm in what little I've seen of your eyes, but…" She pauses once again for three seconds. "All right, Aiden, you can, as you kids say, 'hang out' with… What's your name?" I'm about to tell her my real name when Aiden answers, "His name is Rogue the Hedgehog." So much for telling her my real name… Oh, well. I don't like my real name, anyway.

Miss Thorn raises an eyebrow. "Rogue? That's an… interesting name… But if I hear anything about you trying to harm little Aiden here, I will not hesitate to call the GUN and have them throw you in not just juvenile hall, but in prison. So, you'd best behave yourself." She walks away and mutters, "I can't believe I trust that kid…"

"She's finally gone!" exclaims Aiden quietly. "She's so annoying sometimes." I sigh and finally take a bite of the cheeseburger. It's so delicious! It's been six years! I take several more bites in quick succession. "Man, you really like bacon cheeseburgers, don't you?" asks Aiden. I nod. They're my favorite food. What did he expect? I continue to eat the burger and the chips. "Y'know, it's too bad that the orphanage is full. I'm sure you'd be way better off there."

I stop eating and ask, "Would it, though? I'm pretty sure that Miss Thorn wouldn't like me one bit. Plus, I don't think I'd get along with the other kids. I'm too quiet." I start eating again. So good! I wish this cheeseburger were infinite. That isn't to be however, as I finish the rest of it within thirty seconds, and then I eat the bag of chips within another fifteen seconds.

"Wow!" remarks Aiden. "I've seen you eat fast before, but never that fast! How long has it been since you last ate?" I think back. "A day and a half…" I answer. "Maybe two…" Aiden's mouth drops open in surprise. "Holy crap, Rogue! How can you even stand that? I wouldn't be able to make it twelve hours without eating something!" I sigh and respond, "That's because I've been doing this for six years. It takes some time to get used to it, believe me." He and I just sit and talk for the next hour or so. When it's about nine o'clock, Miss Thorn comes over to us.

"He didn't hurt you, did he, my little Aiden?" she asks as she thoroughly examines him for any cuts or bruises. I can tell Aiden is getting annoyed, so I say, "Ma'am, I promise I didn't hurt Aiden. He's my best friend." I definitely couldn't live with that lady. She's way too paranoid. Even if I were to go to the orphanage like Aiden wants me to, I'm sure she would take my pistol away before I could even say the word "gun". Aiden tries to push her away from him and answers, "He didn't Miss Thorn. I told you that he's really nice. You can trust him."

Miss Thorn clicks her tongue and sighs. "Okay, Aiden, you're fine. Go back to the orphanage now, quickly." Aiden nods and runs off to the orphanage, but he first yells, "Bye, Rogue! See ya later!" I wave in his direction before Miss Thorn sternly says, "Enough games. I won't let a bad influence like you be around sweet Aiden. I know you steal things from local convenience and grocery stores. Why would someone your age do that instead of trying to live in an orphanage or foster home?"

I know this answer is probably going to keep me from seeing Aiden, but I've got to say it. I look straight into her eyes. "Because I don't want some naïve adult to tell me how to do things, dammit! Especially when they try to take my pistol away from me! I could tell you were eyeing my pistol, just waiting for the moment when you could take it! You don't know what I've been through in the past six years! I don't think anybody but Aiden understands what I'm going through! The first time I tried to go into an orphanage, they immediately took my gun from me! I feel completely defenseless without it, but unlike most of you adults think, I won't hurt anybody with it! Not unless they hurt me! And for your information, I steal to survive, so if you don't understand what life is like for me, then you're just another naïve adult that I don't want to deal with!"

I break eye contact as Miss Thorn gasps and responds, "Why, of all the rude things you could say… You are definitely not to see Aiden anymore. I'll let you off the hook just once, but if I ever see you with Aiden, it's off to jail with you." She walks toward the orphanage. I knew it… Aiden's probably going to get scolded big time all because of me. I'm sorry, buddy, but I have to leave. If I stay here, you'll probably just get caught with me, and then we'll both be in huge trouble. It'd probably be best if you just go on and forget I exist. I get up and start walking away with my small backpack on my back and my trusty pistol in my pocket.

"Rogue, you aren't going, are you?" asks a familiar voice from behind me. I sigh. Aiden, please don't do anything stupid. I simply answer, "I am." Aiden runs in front of me and says, "Take me with you. I hate it here, anyway." I look away from him.

"No."

"C'mon, Rogue, please?"

"It's too dangerous."

"No, it's not. I can fend for myself, too."

"You'll get caught."

"Fine, then stay here."

"I can't."

"Either you stay or I go with you. I'm not letting you leave my life."

Aiden, you're being too stubborn. Why do you have to make everything so hard? I love that sweet kid like a brother, but he's making it difficult to leave _and_ to stay. If I leave by myself, then he'd probably get really depressed. If I stay, though, then both he and I would get in a lot of trouble when he would try to see me. And if I leave with him, he'd basically be risking an okay life for the life of a wanderer. I hate to put him in any danger, whether it's emotional or physical. "Come on, Rogue. Let me come with you. Please, Rogue. C'mon…"

I can't take this anymore. "Dammit, Aiden, I said no!" I shout as I finally look straight at him. "I don't want to leave you, either, but things change! I'd rather have you be sad that I left than have you get hurt because I decided to be stupid and take a kid with me!" Anyone who doesn't know me or doesn't know I have Asperger's syndrome would have probably been offended by the way I yelled, like Miss Thorn was with my little monologue back there, but Aiden is rather unfazed. I look down at my feet. "Forget about me. Go and make some other friends. I'm not a good friend anyway if I would just up and leave like this." _That_ is what stuns him.

"But…" mumbles Aiden. I sigh and walk around him. "I'm sorry, Aiden," I say without looking back. "but I think this is for the best. Good-bye, buddy. Maybe I'll come back in about a year or two when, and if, the GUN forgets about me." I begin to walk away, but Aiden runs up and hugs me from behind. His gloved hands cover my stomach as he embraces me tightly. I turn around while in his arms and return the gesture. "See ya, Rogue…" he murmurs. I let him go and I turn around, walking toward the city exit.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

I wonder how Aiden's taking this right now… He's probably angry with me. What a terrible friend I am to just leave him like that, without anything but a good-bye and a hug. I had to, though, for both his safety and mine. I've been walking for five hours, and I just exited the huge metropolis three hours ago. Hopefully, I find a bus stop soon. Station Square is a long ways away, about fifty miles, but with my luck, I won't find a bus stop until _after_ I get there.

Hmm… Let's see… I stole half of a leftover pizza, four bottles of pure water, and a small loaf of Soleanna bread. That should be enough to keep me going for the next week, in case I have to walk the whole way. "Hm-hmm-hm-hm-hmmmm… Hm-hmmmmm-hmm-hmmmm-hm-hm…" I have to keep myself occupied somehow. "Hm-hm-hm-hm-hmmmmm… Hmm-hm-hm… *YAWN*" Ugh… I can't just keep walking all night. I have to find someplace to sleep, anyplace really. I could care less where it is. I've even slept in a tree before, but there aren't any trees along this highway.

I find the thickest patch of grass near me and sit down in it. I take my backpack off and take a gulp of water, then eat a small piece of the bread. I close my backpack, grab my pistol out of my pocket, and lay down, cuddling with my backpack and holding onto my pistol with a tight grip.

* * *

><p>"Yo! Dude! You alright?" Quit shaking me… "C'mon, wake up!" Wait a second, I don't recognize that voice! I snap my eyes open, stand up, and immediately point my pistol at the person in front of me. Unlike most people, however, the blue hedgehog doesn't put his hands up. In fact, he remains rather casual as he says, "Okay, no need to get violent. I just thought you were lost or something." Why is he so calm? His green eyes aren't showing any fear. It's like he's had a gun pointed at him several times before. Wait a second, he's…<p>

"Sonic… the Hedgehog?" I ask quietly as I let my arms return to my sides and immediately drop the eye contact that was needed for me to aim. He's Aiden's hero. He smiles and answers, "The one and only! What in the world is someone your age doing on the side of a highway with a pistol and a backpack?" I sigh. "It's complicated," is all I say in reply. "You're homeless and a thief, aren't you?" responds Sonic without the normal malice people have when they find out. When I don't say anything, Sonic happily says, "It's okay, y'know. When my brother was little, he was in the same situation. Stealing's normally wrong, but when you have to do it to survive, people've gotta look at it differently. Plus, you don't look like a bad person. You just look like someone who could use a little help."

He pauses for a second and holds a chili dog out in front of me. "Go on. Take it. You look like you need it," I take the chili dog from him. "and I'd like to sit down and talk while you eat it. I like meeting new people and I wanna get to know them." Well, I hate meeting new people… I hate talking to new people… Miss Thorn was an exception… If I hadn't talked, things would've gone worse… but Aiden would love it if I told him I met his idol, so I'm going to do it anyway… I just hope I don't end up making myself look like a fool. Things usually go badly when I meet someone new.

Well, actually, Sonic's not new. I knew him back on Christmas Island. Sometimes, we would play together, back when things were better for me. It doesn't seem like he remembers me, though. Why would he remember a shy little hedgehog that could barely look at somebody? I haven't talked to him in six years.

We sit down on the patch of grass, and I start to eat the chili dog. "So, where ya from?" he asks. He could mean several things by that question. I think my silence gives Sonic a hint. "Oh, I get it. You've been all over the place. Let me rephrase that. Where were you born?" I take a bite of the chili dog and reply, "Christmas Island." while looking at him the best I can. Sonic chuckles and responds, "Hey, that's where I was born, too!" Then, Sonic looks like a light bulb goes off in his head before he exclaims, "Wait! I never asked you what your name is! What's your name?"

I can't help but chuckle a bit. He seems so casual around me, kind of like Aiden, unlike most people who come my way. "Maximilian Ultim… But please don't call me Maximilian, or even Max… Call me Rogue." Sonic nods. "You know, Rogue, you're starting to remind me more and more of my little brother. He hates his name, too. He just has everyone call him Tails." Sonic's eyes widen as he realizes something. "Wait, Max Ultim? I remember you! You're that smart little kid I used to play with on Christmas Island." So he does remember… "Don't worry about looking at me. I know how hard it was for you, and I can tell it still is." I immediately break eye contact in relief as he continues, "So, what happened to you? Where are your parents?"

I feel more comfortable now that I know he remembers me, but still not comfortable enough to discuss anything about that. "I don't like to talk about that, Sonic. It's not a good memory. All I'm gonna say is that they died in a terrible accident." I told Aiden once. He about cried his eyeballs out. Sonic simply nods. Wait! I just realized something. "Sonic…" I mutter as I stand up and eat the last of the chili dog. "You can't be around me. I'm a juvenile delinquent wanted by the GUN. If you're caught with me…"

Sonic stands up as well. "I know," he responds. "I've read several articles in several cities about 'Rogue' and one about 'Max'. The one about Max accused you of killing your own parents, and the ones about Rogue were just in cities where you had stolen a lot of stuff." He knows all of this? "I knew who you were from the beginning. I just wanted to see if you were the same boy I had grown up with, and you are. That shy boy wouldn't have stolen unless he had to, and I don't think he'd have killed his parents. That's one article that I'll never believe."

That hedgehog's clever. He pulled that whole ruse just so he could see if I'm me? "You don't have to run from the GUN anymore, Rogue. Not if you don't want to. You could come live with me and Tails in the Mystic Ruins, and then I could go out and clear your name. You wouldn't have to steal anymore. What do you say? We've got room for one more. I missed you after you left Christmas Island. It would be great to have you around again."

It sounds great, but I've just got one question for him. "You wouldn't take my pistol away… would you?" Sonic shakes his head and replies, "Not if it's important to you." Then, I hear a rustling sound coming from across the currently empty highway, in a very tall patch of grass. "I think we have a little visitor. Let's go check it out, Rogue." He and I jog across the highway and look in the grass. We see nothing, but we still hear some rustling. "Oh, I hope they don't notice me…" whispers a voice. I don't think Sonic heard it, but I did.

Aiden… Why did he follow me all the way out here? "Aiden, I know you're there," I say rather calmly, trying to contain my anger at him. "Aiden the Chameleon is not here right now. Please leave a message at the tone. Beep!" I sigh. "Aiden, stop fooling around." The young chameleon un-camouflages himself and turns cyan again. "Hi!" he exclaims. He can tell I'm angry at him.

"Dammit, Aiden!" I explode. "What the hell are you doing here? I told you to stay in Central City!" Aiden stands up and responds, "Well I couldn't just let my older brother leave me behind, could I?" Older brother? That's the first time he's ever called me that. That one rhetorical question calms me down quite a bit. "Brother, huh?" says Sonic. "I think I see what's going on here." I look Aiden directly in the eye to say that I'm sorry for yelling at him. It's the way I apologize.

"You guys must have your own unspoken language," starts Sonic after a few seconds. "because I have no idea what's going on." Aiden chuckles and asks me, "So you really knew Sonic when you were little?" I nod, but Sonic answers for me, "He and I were playmates back on Christmas Island before we both left. We used to have some good times together. Rogue here has barely changed since then, as far as his personality goes."

"So, I have a question for you, Sonic," states Aiden. "Can I come live with you, too?" He points to himself and replies, "Well, I'm okay with it since you're close to Rogue." He points to me. "But I think the final decision lies with him, and if he's like a brother to you, then you've gotta respect his decision." Should he come with? I honestly don't know. He blatantly disregarded my request for him to stay in Central City, but I can't very well send him back there, knowing he'd get punished by Miss Thorn if he went back.

"Okay," I say after a minute. "You can come, but only if you promise not to disregard what I tell you, all right? You do have enough room, right, Sonic?" He nods and answers, "Yeah, but either you two would have to share a room or Tails and I would have to. Either one would probably be fine." So, I don't have to live on my own anymore? That's good… "All right, guys, hop on my back. It's jelly and jam time!" I raise an eyebrow and ask, "Jelly… and jam? I don't see any."

"There's… no jelly and jam, Rogue," explains Aiden. "It's an expression." That would explain why it didn't make sense. "You take things way too literally." Not my fault! I hop onto Sonic's back, and Aiden gets onto mine, and then, Sonic exclaims, "Hold on, guys!" He revs up his legs, and then blasts off. This speed… feels awesome! Aiden yells, "Woo-hoo!" as we accelerate even more.

Within five minutes, we stop. We're obviously there. "Welcome to the Mystic Ruins, guys!" Holy crap! I don't think I've seen so much natural beauty! There are plateaus and trees everywhere, and the only things that even denote human population are a train station and a lone workshop that's right next to us. "This is the workshop where Tails and I live. Come on, I'll show you around." When we walk inside, I see the living room, in which sits two couches, a recliner, and a large HDTV that is currently off. On the couches are an orange two-tailed fox, a red echidna, a pink hedgehog, and a white bat.

"Where the hell have you been, Sonic!" shouts the red echidna. "I've been waiting here for an hour!" Just from listening to him once, I think his anger issues are worse than my outbursts. "For what, Knuckles?" asks Sonic. Knuckles growls and replies, "Well, to talk, but now I'm not in the mood to talk!" He folds his arms, but the white bat sitting next to him says, "Oh, Knuckie, don't be like that… Oh, say, that teal hedgehog behind you, Sonic, is pretty cute. Hey, if I dump this knucklehead, will you go on a date with me?" Uh… What?

"What did you say, Rouge?" yells Knuckles at the top of his lungs. Rouge chuckles and responds, "I'm just kidding, Knuckie. You're mine." She plants a small kiss on his cheek, and he noticeably calms down. "All right, time for some introductions!" exclaims Sonic. He points to me and says, "Everyone, this is Rogue," then points to Aiden and states, "and his friend, Aiden." He points to the orange fox and says, "Rogue, Aiden, this is Tails," to the pink hedgehog, "Amy," to Knuckles, "Knuckles," and to Rouge, "and Rouge." I wave shyly without looking at anyone and quietly mumble, "Hi…"

"Why isn't he looking us in the eye?" asks Knuckles. "That's plain rude! Doesn't he have any manners?" He's starting to yell. It's not my fault that it's hard for me to do that. "If there's one thing I hate, it's when people are rude to me!" He walks up to me and shouts, "Look me in the eye!" Don't yell at me… "Knuckles, don't yell at him!" exclaims Amy as if she's psychic. He nonetheless continues to do so. My eyes start to tear up. "Don't be so naïve!" he commands. That breaks me and I start bawling. "Knuckles!" scolds Rouge. "You made him cry!" She slaps him across the face and leaves a huge red bruise. "What kind of a man are you?"

Tails speaks, and his voice is even higher than I imagined it to be. "She's right, Knux, you can't talk to a kid with Asperger's syndrome like that." He can tell? "What's that?" asks Amy. "Well," starts Tails. "to put it simply, it's a social disorder. It causes deficits in skills like eye contact, facial expressions, etcetera. People with it are prone to outbursts of rage or crying, and as far as language goes, metaphors and sarcasm don't make sense to them. You have to treat them nicely. I'm guessing since he doesn't make eye contact at this age that he wasn't given any special help when he was younger."

"…" Knuckles says nothing as I wipe tears from my face. "…I'm sorry, kid…" he mumbles after a few seconds. "What?" exclaims Sonic. "I didn't hear that! I don't think Rogue did, either!" I did, though… Knuckles sighs and responds, "I… gotta say it again? I'm sorry." What I'm wondering is how Tails knows that much just from being around me for a few minutes? I nod, and Tails walks up to me, smiling cutely. "Hiya! My name's Miles Prower, but please, just call me Tails." He makes me actually want to look at his eyes. He's so calm and understanding. He puts his hand out for me to shake, and I grasp it. For pretty much the first time, I willingly make eye contact with someone other than Aiden or my parents. I stare directly at his blue eyes, although I think I'm doing it very awkwardly. "Hi, Tails…" I say quietly. "See?" asks Tails to no one in particular. "He's already making progress."

Amy walks over as well. "Hey there, Rogue. Have no fear; Amy Rose is here!" I shake her hand as well, and then I look into her hot pink eyes. They're so… beautiful… and dreamy. Her short pink quills are combed down, and she's wearing a headband with a brooch on the left side of it. She's wearing a red minidress and red boots. She's comparable to a princess from a children's storybook. "H-h-h… Hi, A-A-Am… Amy," I nervously say. "Aww! Look at that!" she exclaims. "He's blushing!" I am? I am! I quickly look at my feet to stop myself from turning red. Amy chuckles as Sonic whispers in my ear, "I know. She's cute, right?" Well, obviously. If she weren't, then I wouldn't be blushing.

Soon, Rouge steps up and says, "I'm Rouge the Bat, but you can call me Rouge. I'm the greatest jewel thief alive and an agent for the GUN." She… She is? That's not good… What if she reports me to the GUN HQ? Frick! When she puts her hand out, I shy away from her. "What's wrong?" she asks. "You… You're a G-G-G-G… GUN agent? Don't touch me! You're gonna arrest me, aren't you?" An inquisitive look appears on her face. "Why would I arrest you? You're just a kid. What could you have done that's so bad?"

I pull my gun out and yell, "Stop playing tricks on me! I know you know who I am! The last agent who tried to arrest me said that he'd put all of the GUN on alert!" Then, she looks as if a light bulb goes off in her head. "Wait, _you're_ Rogue? I expected the thief 'Rogue the Hedgehog' to be a full-grown man, not a thirteen-year-old boy. What did you steal anyway?" Without putting my gun down, I reply, "Food… Just enough to survive…" Rouge raises an eyebrow. "That's what's got HQ's panties in a bunch? An impoverished kid stealing food? I swear they must have no heart. Either that or their priorities are messed up big time. And you know what? It's not my duty to arrest you. I'm a spy, not a full-time agent, and I honestly missed the company of another thief."

"Rogue… could you please… put the pistol away?" asks Amy. "I'm not comfortable around guns…" I put my gun in my pocket and immediately realize what a stupid move that was. I probably made Amy feel uncomfortable around me.

"Okay, kid," starts Knuckles while he stays on the couch. "I'm Knuckles, and I don't do the whole handshake thing."

After everyone's introduced, Knuckles, Rouge, and Amy leave. "So why'd you bring the two of them over here, Sonic?" asks Tails. Sonic scratches the side of his head with his index finger and replies, "Oh, yeah, I need to ask you something, Tails. Do you mind if these two stay here with us for a while? They don't have any place to go." Tails opens his mouth, but before he can say anything, Sonic interrupts, "And no, they wouldn't be able to stay with Vanilla. Rogue doesn't even know her and Cream, and I don't think she'd want a gun in her house. I don't think Rogue would like it there."

"You're implying that you know him pretty well. Did you guys know each other when you were little?"

"Yup. He and I would play together back on Christmas Island."

"How long ago was that?"

"Back when I was eight and nine years old."

Tails looks at me and smiles. "Wow!" he exclaims happily. "You've known Sonic longer than I have! Sure. You guys can stay in the guest room. You two are fine with sharing a room, right?" Aiden nods and replies, "Yep! That's fine!" Tails smiles once more and gets up from the couch. "All right! Let me show you around!"

We walk around the first floor, in which sits the living room, the kitchen, the dining room, the half bath, and the garage, which has three biplanes in it and one monoplane. "That's a lot of planes! Cool!" exclaims Aiden. Tails chuckles and says, "Yeah, I think they're pretty cool, too. I designed all but one of them. The red one is the Tornado-1, which is the one I didn't design. The blue biplane is the Tornado-2, and the blue monoplane is the Tornado-3. The silver one is the X-Tornado." The only thing I'm thinking about, though, is how huge the house is.

We walk out of the garage and head up the stairs. There are four rooms in the upper level. "Okay," starts Tails. "so the one on the farthest end is Sonic's room, the one next to that is my room, the next one is the bathroom, and the one right in front of us is the guest room, which is now your guys' room." He opens the door to the room, and in it sits two full-size beds, two nightstands, two small dressers, a bookshelf, a computer, a table, and a small TV. The room is at least twenty-five by twenty-five feet, which is relatively small compared to the rest of the house, but it's still huge for my standards. Back when I was seven, my room was probably only nine by nine.

"Jeez!" yells Aiden. "Your guest room is more like a guest suite! Heck, this whole house is huge!" Tails chuckles and responds, "Yeah. It was a steal, too. We seriously thought that someone was crazy when we were just given this house. They said it was because Sonic was such a hero that he deserved a good place to live, so here we are now! Anyway, get yourselves settled in. I'll see ya after that!" He walks down the stairs, and I just stand there, trying to take in the sudden turn of events. Half an hour ago, I was wandering along a highway, and now, I've been offered a place to stay by Sonic the Hedgehog.

Aiden runs over and jumps onto one of the beds. "Oh, my gosh! This thing is so comfy! Rogue, you've gotta see!" I guess I might as well… I walk over to the other bed, take off my backpack, and slowly sit down. Even when I'm just sitting, though, I already see what he means. I lay down on it… Seeing as it's been six years since I slept on a bed, I think I'd be content with any bed, but this one is comfortable beyond anything I've ever laid down on. I let out a sigh of comfort as I close my eyes. This is like heaven… "You're right, Aiden…" I say.

After a few minutes of laying down, I sit up in the bed and let my feet dangle off the side so I'm facing the TV. Hooked up to the TV is… Well, I don't know what that is. "Hey, Aiden, what's that thing?" I point to the weird black box. Aiden sits up and faces the TV as well. "Oh, that?" he starts. "That's a PlayStation Two, or PS2 for short. It's a video game console. We had one back at the orphanage." A video game console? Awesome! I haven't played a video game in forever! The last one I played was on a decrepit Nintendo. "Do you think they'll let us play it?" I ask.

"Of course. It's there for a reason, y'know." The voice came from Sonic, who's standing right in the doorway. "The games are right there on the bookshelf if you wanna take a look. Aiden and I nod and walk over to the bookshelf, where there are probably about fifteen games just for the PS2. There are a couple in particular that catch my eye, however. They have Sonic's name on them.

I take a game titled _Sonic Heroes_ off of the shelf, and Sonic must have noticed my curiosity about the game, because he's now behind me saying, "You're wondering about some of those games? I swear that the company who made them was psychic, because even though these video game systems were made over a thousand years ago, they predicted almost everything that happened to me. Weird, huh? Of course, they did miss _some_ valuable information, but it's still weird how they were able to do that… Can I have the game, please?" I hand the case to him, and he walks over to the PS2. "This particular game happens when Tails, Knux, and I had to defeat Neo Metal Sonic," he explains as he pops the game in. "That annoying son of a…" He doesn't finish his sentence before he says, "Here, I'll show you."

He turns the TV and the PS2 on, and he starts playing the game…


End file.
